Black & Blue is a Belgian-style golden ale fermented with blackberries and blueberries. Because we dose Black & Blue with real berries -- rather than artificial flavoring -- the fruit comes through in the flavor, not just the aroma.

The pureed berries are added as the beer leaves the brewhouse. In fermentation, the yeast -- the same one we use in Red & White and Pangaea -- feeds on sugars from the barley and the berries, giving Black & Blue a unique complexity and a high ABV.

Smell: More raspberry than blueberry. Sort of sweet smelling with just a tad bit of fruit and malt. Very mild.

Taste: Extremely mild tasting in flavor and ABV. I couldnt tell at all it was 11%. Malty with just a touch of sweet fruit. Not like any other blueberry or fruit beers that are overpowering and sickeningly sweet. This is actually drinkable. Light and not much in the way of aftertaste. A little tart at the end.

Overall a good balanced fruit beer. Just enough fruit to know what you are drinking, good masking of alcohol, easy to drink and a good strong beer for summer. I dont think I could make this a regular but maybe this should be on a rotating every other year schedule.

Apperance: Beautiful slightly hazy rose/orange beer with a fluffy cream head that has great retention.

Smell: Bright, sweet, and fruity; there's dark fruit in here, but also something reminiscent of fresh blueberry muffins, and just a touch of alcohol and vanilla in the background.

Taste: Nice tart raspberry/blackberry flavors; there's not a lot of depth here though, and the alcohol is pretty apparent.

Mouthfeel: Medium-heavy

Drinkability: Pretty high for the abv

Conclusion: This was my treat to myself on my 26th birthday; I'd been wanting to try this beer for a long time, and while it was pretty tasty, I was expecting a little more depth and complexity...at any rate, it was pretty tasty with dessert.